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Great information! I guess I am lucky as my real estate agent said that he refuses to sell land that is in a 100 year flood plain area. Using the Brunswick County GIS web site (Brunswick County, North Carolina GIS), it shows my property at 38 feet above sea level and my plat says I am out of the 100 year flood zone.
I opened the map but couldn't find the elevation for my lot. It's purple in color. Can you give me a clue as to how high that is?
CanalsLB, haven't seen you on in a while. How did you fare with Sandy? My son lost everything in his rental off of Roosevelt. Cousin hit hard on Maryland in the West End. Sad to see but it will come back.
We lost everything on the first floor. Right now all the walls and floors are ripped up.
Our boiler was up high but not enough so we need a new one.
We're trying to get the heat going and it's tough to get contractors.
No money from flood insurance yet but plenty of bills.
We're living elsewhere and have to move in about a week.
Trying to keep our spirits up but sometimes it's difficult.
Things are getting better but it's going very slowly.
I opened the map but couldn't find the elevation for my lot. It's purple in color. Can you give me a clue as to how high that is?
CanalsB - After your lot is displayed (and I think everything shows purple) click on the "Layers" tab at the top. Then scroll down to "Topography" tab and click on that. Then click the "Topography" block. Then on the bottom click on the "Refresh Map" button. You may have to pan out to see the closest blue line to your property.
Wishing for natural gas to come here is like wishing for Mr Obama and Mr Beyner to somehow think about the public good and not their political futures and bank accounts while doing their Kabuki dance every day on TV..... the chance is fairly non-existant.
As somone else mentioned, propane tanks of ALL sizes are definitely permitted throughout Brunswick County, above ground as well as buried, we just buried one a few weeks ago.... throughout St James and the other communities in the area you will see them both above ground and buried... everywhere. The thought that they somehow may pose an "environmental issue" is fairly ridiculous, as someone else said earlier, it isn't oil it is "gas"... just like in your home up north if you turn on the burner without lighting it, the "gas" will simply e-vapor-ate... as it is a vapor..... the same would happen if a "leak" somehow were to appear in a buried tank, it would simply evaporate into the air.
Regarding worrying about heating your new home down here..... I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. When in Southport, NC do as the Southportians do..... the "standard" method of heating homes down here is electric heat pumps... electricity is the fuel. In this moderate climate the thing to concern yourself with is the A/C in the warmer months, not the heat in the winter. We have been in this rental townhouse for over a year and it has the cheapest barely meets code construction, the least amount of insulation allowed and the lowest, bottom grade heating unit they could find and we had no problem last winter in the coldest months of January and February..... never heard anyone complain that they were cold in the winter here.
However..... there are MANY factors that will greatly affect your electric bill AND comfort with regards to heating and cooling your new home down here. One is those 15 - 18 ft cathedral ceiling that architects love to design into homes, they look great and have a wow factor but heat rises and when you have a two story room the heat will always go to the ceiling and when the sysytem stops blowing the warm air the 1st floor will become colder than the second floor in that room and that is a fact.... then there is the construction itself, 2 x 4 vs 2 x 6 walls allowing more insulation, then there is the air infiltration "wrap" such as a Tyvek type product ( which really doesn't do too much at all ) builders tend to use the least amount of both of the aforementioned as they can get away with by code.... something to discuss as you build. Then there is a foil heat shield on the interior, another wise step in the insulation process to keep your "attic" area less than the usual 150 degrees in the summer. Then there are the mechanical units themselves, of which there are about a gazillion makes, types and efficiency ratings not to mention the different staged units and their BTU output all of which range in price from very high to very low, the latter of which is the favorite of most of the builders...... a thorough discussion of these options BEFORE building will have the desired effect of substantially lowering your energy bill and making the home more comfortable to live in.... not the fuel source, which will be electricity..... those are just SOME of the factors that affect the electric bill and the comfort of your newly built home.
Someone mentioned Geothermal systems to heat and cool the home, they work very well in this climate, very energy efficient.... so why doesn't everyone have one ? They are much more expensive initially to install and require digging in the yard and laying pipes, etc and a bit more thought and calculating before building.... now there are presently tax credits to offset some of the cost over the first few years and in the long run it is, I believe, a better system all the way around, will save money and will not need replacement in 10 - 15 years like the standard units everyone is using... so why not again ? It is simply more complicated, builders want to talk you out of it, harder to build into the site, etc and then there is the mindset of most people that it is something new / foreign and if it was so good everyone would be doing it and on and on, but it is a great system for residential in this area.... done correctly it will be MUCH cheaper in the long run and give more trouble free operation for years more than regular HVAC systems.
Is there a link to the elevation plot map that you discussed in your earlier post. I know Members Club is the highest point in Brunswick County. I am in the Reserve and believe I am about 50 feet above sea level, but am curious to check it out on the map.
Regards,
Pony
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